Lawn care tasks are commonly performed using various tools and/or machines that are configured for the performance of corresponding specific tasks. Certain tasks, like grass cutting, are typically performed by lawn mowers. Lawn mowers themselves may have many different configurations to support the needs and budgets of consumers. Walk-behind lawn mowers are typically compact, have comparatively small engines, and are relatively inexpensive. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, riding lawn mowers, such as lawn tractors, can be quite large. Riding lawn mowers can sometimes also be configured with various functional accessories (e.g., trailers, tillers, and/or the like) in addition to grass cutting components. Riding lawn mowers provide the convenience of a riding vehicle as well as a typically larger cutting deck as compared to a walk-behind model.
The cutting blades employed by lawn mowers are typically rotated in some fashion in order to cause the rotating blade to cut vegetation that is encountered thereby. One way to cause rotation of the cutting blade of a lawn mower is to use electricity to engage a clutch to the main engine crankshaft of the lawn mower. One or more drive belts may then selectively couple rotation of the shaft to a drive pulley of one or more blade assemblies. In some cases, such a clutch may be referred to as a power takeoff (PTO) clutch. The PTO clutch may transfer rotational torque and power to activate rotating components like the blades on lawn mowers. For an electrically operated clutch, a magnetic armature and rotor may be operable based on electricity supplied from a battery of the mower to engage a clutch and plate to allow full contact and thereby move a belt to couple rotation of a shaft powered by the engine to rotate the blades. A similar mechanism may also be employed for tillers or other outdoor power equipment that utilizes rotatable working gear to accomplish a task.
In many devices in which a PTO clutch is employed, a switch is provided in an accessible location for the operator to engage or disengage. Based on repeated operation and corresponding repeated mechanical transitions to engage/disengage the clutch and rotate the belt, the belt may wear and/or change in size or other characteristics over time. Mechanical coupling between pulleys using a belt will typically involve some amount of slippage or belt slip that is expected. However, the amount of slip may increase over time and therefore impact operation characteristics. In some cases, changes in the amount of slip may reduce belt life. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide mechanisms for preventing or mitigating the amount of slip change over time.